Friday, September 24, 2010

Southwest Squash Soup

I found this recipe several years ago in a 5 A Day program cookbook. I've made it so many times in so many different ways. Last week I picked up two big butternut squash at the grocery store and instantly remembered this favorite recipe.

The CDC has since updated the 5 A Day program to call it Fruits & Veggies – More Matter(TM). This was a great move, since we all need to remember to keep adding fruits and vegetables to all meals and snacks during the day. I find this easier than counting how many servings we eat each day.

Fall and winter fruits and veggies like butternut squash are heartier than a lot of the produce of summer. This makes it easier to keep tons on hand without fear of spoiled produce!

Butternut squash provides fiber, potassium, Vitamin C, folate, magnesiun, iron, and calcium to a healthy diet. It's orange color is a tip that it's a good source of beta-carotene (which becomes Vitamin A) an antioxidant with a key role in maintaining eye health and vision.

I did some chopping in the morning before school drop-off, then whipped this soup together while playing with Ned. The hardest part is peeling and dicing the squash – most stores stock peeled squash that will save you this step.